Boys vs. Girls: The Fate of the Towers
Boys vs. Girls: The Fate of the Towers is the third part of the ''Boys vs. Girls'' book trilogy. It was released in October 2014. Summary Promotional summary The Armies of Organa have claimed Helen McKeen for their side and won a major battle in the mix, but face the consequences of slaying Hilary. As the revelation of a great good comes ever closer, as two organizations come to a head, the residents of Tower Placement School must unite or be destroyed. Official summary In the final installment of this blockbuster trilogy, the Armies of Organa continue their war against the evil Emily Watson. They have scored a major victory by slaying the evil Hilary J Black, but face the consequences of unleashing the great Orc demon. Principal Zambaux has willingly left office, replacing himself with war-hardened General Exotorn, a veteran who is always vexed for some reason or other, and sees fit to run Tower Placement School like a military camp. He gave the school's residents an absolute curfew of 3:30, installed his Elite Hall Monitors fresh from the First NoHead War, and instilled a number of new rules that included the banning of backpacks. In the meantime, two adolescents were finally beginning to fall madly in love, leaving Steven over the moon but wondering if he was mature enough to take on any of this. And Josh and Cooper had issues of their own. And a great good was drawing ever closer to being revealed to mortal men. And on top of it all, something told Steven that Exotorn concealed a dark secret. And he would not rest until he discovered what it was. Synopsis Prologue The book opens when Zamb Organa Senior implores his son, Zamb Organa Junior, to move the Armies of Organa to Tower Placement School and assures him that he can still do great things and this won't always be his destiny just because it is in the present. The fall of Black Picking up in 2012 following the climax and ending of , Steven Thompson leads his friends abroad as the demon Hilary destroys Pleasant Grove. Thompson destroys Black, rendering himself wounded. The last thing he hears is Helen McKeen having a panic attack and begging him to stay with her, and then he blacks out. When he awakens, Helen unexpectedly kisses him when he promises he will recover. Unfortunately, Summer thought they had kissed on the lips and runs from the house crying. When Steven is confused by this, Sam tells him that Summer has a crush on him, which he, unlike Steven, thinks is obvious. Back to school Steven is grounded by his parents for his role in the destruction of Pleasant Grove and is essentially placed under house arrest, with Tanesha making periodic trips to Tower Placement to get him his homework. Upon his return to Tower Placement, Angel slips him a message, leaving him surprised that the sinister and mean-spirited Exotorn is the new principal of Tower Placement School. In the afternoon, Steven, who has just met up with Josh Hogan, arrives at Helen's house to find her mowing the lawn. They embrace and Helen offers to get him a snack, which he accepts. They talk about the recent battle and Steven brings to light his near death experiences and how he willingly gave up his will to live if it meant killing Hilary. Helen cheers him up and in turn, Steven offers to finish mowing the lawn. Vernal In the meantime, Emily and her followers destroy yet another city. Toli rescues a budgie from a smouldering cage and runs to join the others, just as Emily arrives on the scene. She asks if they've spared anything, and while her followers deny this, she notices Toli's budgie and stabs her to make three examples: freedom has a price, the weak are to suffer, and she believes Steven will go exactly the same way as Toli. Dating Helen McKeen At one point, Charles finds Blaise Parton pinning Valiera Nelson against a wall and furiously challenges him to physical combat on the condition that he doesn't release Nelson. Parton reluctantly throws Nelson into Charles, leaving him to question if Nelson was losing her nerve. It is then revealed that Summer has seen the whole thing, though she makes a mental note never to mention it. Thompson is left very upset, deciding afterwards to distance himself from the war, to an extent, and instead begins concentrating on his personal life. To that end, he finally asks Helen McKeen out and arranges to take her to the upcoming homecoming dance. On the night of the dance, Thompson picks up McKeen at her house and they attend the dance, where McKeen introduces him to her friends. During the dance, they shared a passionate kiss. At school, during an assembly, Helen is seen tenderly stroking Steven's hair, something he looks quite comfortable with. After the assembly, he finally relents and asks her out on a date, which she readily agrees to. Steven spends the time and day with Helen, who finds himself falling deeply romantically in love with her. Steven notes that Helen would never keep secrets from him, right before she informs him that Summer is doing quite well as an insurgent. The events of that night leave Steven dumbfounded as he decides that Helen really is "something". Charles, likewise, shares a tender moment with Valiera, who leaves for an undisclosed school. The League disbands When Steven Thompson returns to the school with Josh Hogan and Helen McKeen just in time for the year's show-and-tell assembly, he loudly announces that Principal Exotorn is not who he seems, something he realized when Exotorn employed telekinesis, a feat the real Exotorn could never perform. Vincent Organa telekinetically rips out the headgear concealing the imposter's face, who is revealed to be no other than Longfellow. Longfellow claims that the Boy-Team has saved nothing, before taking up arms against Arcus. The hall monitors try to interfere, only for Thompson, McKeen, Hogan, and the Organa twins to take them down and focus their attention on the worm. Before they can do anything, however, Arcus incapacitates Longfellow. Thompson formally announces that the League of Wretched Worms is to disband, never to return. For his crimes at Tower Placement, Arcus curses him to die "at the next vergence". He assures Thompson that Longfellow has no longer than a decade to live as the worm slinks away, never to bother anyone again. Summer Petersen's revelation After schoolteacher Mr. Danny leaves the classroom he was teaching, Beethovrn attempted to kill Helen. This led to a heated battle in the class. Hoping to defeat the boys, Emily Watson tried to cut down Steven Thompson. However, Summer Petersen retaliated and blocked the attack. Emily immediately realized Summer had been pretending to help the Girl-Team the whole time. As Emily and Summer clashed, Steven took notice. Summer was viciously driven back, barely able to protect herself. Despite her efforts, Summer simply could not find an opening. Helen shouted that Mr. Danny was returning. Disengaging from the villain, Summer hastily hid her weapon, as did everyone else. The teacher, Mr. Danny, arrived at the scene and saw a blast and a tiny fire in the wall. He shouted at them to stop fighting, to which Emily responded by blasting him aside with lightning and rushing to the office, where she used her powers to subdue the administration before making a fraudulent phone call to the police, telling them the boys were trying to murder them due to a “science project.” The students finish class with Mr. Danny, then moved on to the last period. Their new teacher taught calmly, though the boys could hardly process the information he explained. After returning to class with Danny, Danny did a lecture until Summer called the boys to the window, speaking in a strangled voice. The Boy-Team generals join her at the window. Two police cruisers were pulling up thirty stories below. A few minutes later, the PA system burst to life and called Steven Thompson down to the office. With a sinking heart, Summer told herself that there were many reasons Steven could have been called down there. But she knew Emily’s plan to neutralize the boys was working. Summer waited in agony for Steven to return, but he never came back. Andrew, striken with panic, communicated the news — Steven was being driven away by his parents. Minutes later, Jay Organa was called down as well. Mr. Danny jokingly asked what was going on, suggesting it could have been murder as an allusion. He frowned at the raw fear on Jay’s face and claimed he was kidding. Like Steven, Jay did not return to class. Prison Break The boys were sentenced to temporary confinement within the walls of the prison, but they would only remain in prison for roughly twelve hours. Fortunately, Summer Petersen had a plan to escape. When she noticed a pole in her cell, she ripped a hook off the coat rack nearby and stuck it to the pole. Then she extended it beyond the jail bars, where the hook snagged the keys from the jail guard, who had fallen asleep. Then she reeled them in and used them to free herself. She tossed the keys to Anakin Organa, who caught them with the Force, freed himself, and passed them to his brother Jay. This action repeated itself until all the boys detained on the right of Petersen’s cell were freed. Anakin ordered Petersen to pass the keys to the left, and Petersen handed them to Kolby. Kolby freed himself and passed the keys in a second line, beginning with Steven Thompson. But then Shaun dropped the keys, awakening the guard. Before the boys could do anything, the guard triggered the alarm, alerting several jail guards and their commander. Wielding a baton, the commander ordered everyone to drop their weapons lest he and his men open fire. When they refused, he gave the word and the guards attacked the escapees, attacking with guns as well as swords. The boys fought back with their laser swords, but they could not hold the guards for long. The jail force slowly drove them back, knocking out several of them in the process and killing several others. Suddenly, Summer Petersen heard shouting behind her and turned, quietly expressing her disbelief. A moment later, hordes of boys assaulted the jail force, their laser swords blazing. They cut down sixteen jail guards before the rest slowly stepped back. When the commander coaxed them forward, most of them dove in for a retake, and several surrounded Thomas Sanders, catching him by surprise. To save him, Anakin Organa used the Force to hurl an entire door at the ring of guards, bashing them. Eventually, the commander began to feel his troops’ fear and ordered them to retreat. Anakin gave his laser sword a twirl, announcing that the time had come to stop Emily Watson. The boys began to file out, but then the commander showed up from behind and caught Summer Petersen by the neck. Petersen gagged, trying to wrestle free. After taunting Petersen briefly, he pushed her back in her cell and took her laser sword. After closing the door, he turned to the rest and stated that Petersen would die, lest one of them take her place for life. Steven Thompson was about to step forward, but Jay Organa stopped him and insisted he would go instead, claiming the boys needed Thompson to lead them. Jay stepped forward. The commander seized him and locked him up three cells away from Petersen. However, when Thompson asked for Petersen, the commander chuckled, and said that the boys were too trusting of him. Still believing Emily Watson’s story, he sincerely feared that if Petersen was set free, she would “murder many of her own for years to come”. He insisted that he was keeping both of them for the rest of their lives and then ordered them out. First Battle of Tower Placement Emily Watson held a secret meeting to commend everyone for their role in defeating the greatest opposition to their revolution. However, she suddenly realized the boys had escaped prison and arrived for a surprise attack, and she rallied the entire organization to ambush them. Meanwhile, the boys subtly hid in the shadows. Helen McKeen gave Steven Thompson her keycard and he went to inspect the Boy Trap. However, Emily Watson had anticipated this and sent the entire army to fight, and a heated battle took place. Unfazed, the boys utilized their laser swords, deflecting the blasts and cutting through the first group with ease. Emily stayed and joined the fighting briefly, taking out several boys in combat before pursuing Steven Thompson. Finally, the girls were forced to split up, and regrouped around the arena. Though outnumbered by their enemies, the girls fought to the end. While Thomas Sanders attempted to incapacitate any girls attempting to flee, Helen McKeen fought alongside Andrew Hendersen while shouting orders to various men, shouting at two boys to get off of a bridge they were fighting on. Back at the prison, Jay spins a tornado with his powers that blew down the jail door. Although the guard was asleep, the blast woke him up. Now released, Jay walked over and grabbed the laser sword the temporarily paralyzed guard had stolen. Holding him at bladepoint, Jay demanded the commander keep his word and release Petersen. Still refusing to give in, the jail commander asked why the boys were trying to kill the girls at Tower Placement School. Jay explained that the Girl-Team meant to kill them, but Petersen, in an alarming act of empathy, insisted that she blamed Watson, not the organization itself. The guard thought it over, but when Jay pointed out that Watson was the daughter of the Thunderqueen, the guard apologized and released Summer himself. Before the two left, he pleaded with them to do what they could for the school while he got "help from other, more adult sources". It was during the heated battle that followed that Ludwig Beethoven II attempted to fight and kill Helen McKeen. Beethoven landed in a space free from stray gunfire and was charged by Helen; at the last second the evildoer activated his jetpack, and McKeen climbed onto a balcony where she quickly beheaded the infamous sidekick. Facing off against Emily Watson As the battle downstairs rages, Emily Watson wanders off by herself and, finding Steven, confronts him and blasts him onto the roof of the school. Being too depressed to speak, Steven lets Emily torture him for a brief time. But he regains his will when he sees Summer arriving at the school. About three quarters through the battle, Jay finds Anakin, who instructs him to follow him home. There they board their skyfighters and return to Tower Placement. The brothers assault the Second Girl-Team base. Both set to engage the robotic fighters, taking down the first wing of enemy craft. Anakin leads the strike on the battleship’s 14 Receiver Stations and knocks them all out. The loss of the control signal prevents the battleship from launching additional fighters. Jay chases the last skyfighter and destroyed it. Anakin and Jay then realized the ship would be destroyed only if they could enter it through one of the hangars and reach the main reactor. At that point, quad turbolaser cannons which used complex recursive algorithms to target enemies, are deployed and take out Jay, killing him. Anakin screams in terror, then dodges a laser blast. At the same time, Watson duels Thompson, hammering him with vicious power attacks until Steven is disarmed and falls to the floor. He throws himself upward, knocking her over and costing her her own blade. With that, their duel degenerates into a brawl. Anakin moves in close to engage the school, and begins to skim the edge, only to be tailed by an enemy fighter. Attempting to rally, he outmaneuvers it and causes it to collide into the school. After the first wave of Girl-Team skyfighters are down, Anakin attacks the bridge. He manages to land hits with his proton torpedoes, but the torpedoes were not strong enough to affect the shielded base. Anakin subsequently knocked out a tractor beam generator. The station was able to reroute the control signal and launch additional skyfighters to engage the lone pilot. Anakin succeeds in taking down several of the skyfighters before having his own wing clipped, and he lands in the base’s hangar. Back in the hallway, it is the boys who held the upper hand. Although the Armies of Organa suffered losses due to heavy enemy fire, the Girl-Team suffered many more. Eventually, Helen McKeen signaled for a cessation of the fight. She explained everything she knew about Emily Watson's motives, disgusting many girls who had trusted the latter. McKeen then offered the chance to surrender, and the girls were more than happy to oblige. They immediately fled the school for a seemingly permanent time. McKeen joined the boys in a brief victory dance. In the hangar, Anakin’s ship landed on the hangar floor, overheated. He ducked down to avoid discovery as robot soldiers surrounded his ship and ordered the general to come out. Anakin attempted to restart the fighter by fiddling with the controls. After his skyfighter rebooted, he deliberately launched a pair of torpedoes into the main reactor when trying to escape and fire on the enemy. A robot reported the disturbance to their commander, who claimed that it was impossible for a skyfighter to get past the deflector shields. The reactor explosion caused by Anakin created a massive explosion that ripped the ship in half. With immeasurable relief, Anakin quickly escaped through the ship’s main hangar, whooping. The impending destruction was also seen by Summer, who was sneaking inside the school below. A puzzled GTR-10 sees Anakin retreating from the base, but fails to realize what is happening when the control computer in front of them explodes, killing him and the entire crew in an instant; this process made a giant explosion on the floor the base was built on. Anakin then contacted Helen and informed her that the base was destroyed. Final battle On the roof of Tower Placement School, Steven smashes Emily against the floor several times until she knocks him away with a quick lightning jab. Steven plows into a metal object and hits the ground, but Emily hurls him against a roof. As she searches for him, Steven grabs a club and swings it at his enemy. Emily falls into a metal prism at the center of the roof. Seeing his chance, Steven pins her down. However, he spares her life and bounds across the roof where Summer has just arrived to help him. Unknown to them, Emily has secretly followed Steven and, still consumed by her rage, slashes him from behind, leaving her and Summer to assume Steven's dead. A moment later, Anakin Organa shows up, his own mission accomplished. He opens fire, but Watson destroys his fighter, incinerating him. Summer charges to avenge Steven and Anakin. Overcome with hatred, Summer lashed out at Emily. She succeeded in knocking the villainess to the ground, dazing her slightly. However, Watson remained in control and eventually pushed Summer off the roof. The girl clung for her life on the thirtieth floor’s balcony and watched as Watson kicked her fallen laser sword over the edge for a thirty-story fall. As the Girl-Team leader tried to dislodge her with laser sword strikes on the edge of the roof, whose laser sword-resistant metal poles blocked the slashes, Petersen was able to relax her nerves and focus on her teachings. She somersaulted out of the pit and swung her weapon deftly, scoring a perfect strike on Watson’s waist. Then she pushed Watson off the roof; the villainess exploded in a release of Dark energy soon after. After Emily Watson’s death, Steven Thompson quickly recovered and grabbed ahold of an injured Summer Petersen, pulling her up onto the balcony. Summer knew her time was coming, despite Steven ensuring her that all will be well with their reunion at hand. Unfortunately, the weak Summer then died in Steven’s arms. At the same moment, the corpses of Anakin and Jay Organa made contact. As Steven sobbed over the loss of his love, shimmering beams of light fell onto Summer. Summer’s body floated into the air, and mended any minor wounds before she came back to life. Although skeptical at first, Steven returned Summer’s affectionate hug, which subsequently mended damage done to the school and revived several fallen members of the Boy-Team. As such, the war came with little loss for the boys. Ending Afterwards, the boys held a secret celebration in their base several nights after the battle. Emily Watson and Beethoven II were both dead, and the girls had been dealt a massive blow. During the party, Steven revealed that several fallen boys were replicas of the real students. As the celebration continued, Andrew confessed his love for Helen, who nervously revealed she had affections for him as well. Behind the scenes The School War was first mentioned in , when no mention of the war past the first battle was made until the sequel, which nearly was not finished, much less published. In this book, no mention was made about what they actually were. Another early concept for the revelation of the war was an iconic quote from General Anakin Organa (he himself was named after “Star Wars” characters Anakin Skywalker and Leia Organa, though it was pronounced differently). Originally, steak knives were going to be used as primary weapons instead of lightsabers. This changed after a collaboration to dissolve any plotholes in the story. From 2012 to 2018, the School War era was one of the largest wars in history, and the only one fought between children (that is, until the Second NoHead War in 2019). An official timeline was developed to make sure no time gaps overlapped or went overboard, less than a month before the production of the book. However, it was changed at the last minute for events that would not fit otherwise (such as the enigma between Helen’s reformation and Andrew’s kidnapping). A definitive timeline has yet to be released. It was also revealed that a Second School War took place, though none of it was on-screen. This was led by Natalia Thornton after Emily Watson was gone. Rating This book was rated PG-13, the second ever for a D.I.T. book. The first book to be rated PG-13 was , and The X-Adults: Endgame: The Latest Threat shared this rating. Several books have been rated as such since then, such as the Across the Portal trilogy. External links Boys vs. Girls - Part 2 Notes and references 3